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Enlarge ImageTOM MIHALEK | ASSOCIATED PRESSFormer Blue Jackets goaltender Steve Mason has been sharp early for Philadelphia, but the Flyers have struggled mightily otherwise. They fired their coach after only three games.

The Blue Jackets have played like many have expected so far this season. They had one bad loss (Calgary), but rebounded with two solid road wins (Buffalo and New York Islanders) and a close-but-not-quite-good-enough loss to Boston on Saturday.

At 2-2, the Jackets are in the middle of the pack in the Metropolitan Division.

But to look across the NHL right now is to rub one’s eyes and wonder if the standings didn’t somehow become inverted.

That’s no more true than in the Metro, where Pittsburgh — as expected — has taken an early lead, but other playoff hopefuls have stumbled at the starting gate.

Think it’s too early to make rash judgments? Tell that to the Philadelphia Flyers, who fired coach Peter Laviolette last week after just three games.

The Flyers are 1-5-0 and have scored just eight goals in six games. They have had more coaches than wins in the first two weeks of the season, with first-time coach Craig Berube now calling the shots.

Surprisingly, it hasn’t been the Flyers’ goaltending as the culprit. Former Blue Jacket Steve Mason has a .935 save percentage in four starts, but he is just 1-3.

Star forwards Claude Giroux and Scott Hartnell have yet to score, and now Hartnell and aged free-agent addition Vincent Lecavalier are injured and out at least a week.

“We don’t want to get comfortable with losing,” Berube said to Philadelphia media members after a 5-2 loss in Detroit on Saturday. “But I thought we played a pretty good game — solid game, with guys having a lot of urgency.”

The Rangers were singing a similar tune after losing 5-3 in St. Louis on Saturday.

Under new coach Alain Vigneault, the Rangers are 1-4-0 and have been outscored 25-9 in five games.

So far their season-opening nine-game trip — Madison Square Garden is being refurbished — has been a nightmare.

Goaltender Henrik Lundqvist has an .887 save percentage, but the play in front of him has been horrendous.

The good news is center Brad Richards, who has scored four goals, looks renewed. The rest of the club has scored only five goals.

Top defensemen Marc Staal (minus-7) and Ryan McDonagh (minus-5) have been brutal, along with veteran forwards Derek Stepan (minus-7) and Ryan Callahan (minus-6).

Still, they found a glimmer of sunshine on Saturday against the Blues.

“The second period was the best we’ve played all year, by far,” Richards told New York media members, even though the Blues outscored the Rangers 3-1 in that period.

It’s hard to imagine such a sunny outlook under previous coach John Tortorella, but the Rangers’ new approach under Vigneault — less defensive pressure, more emphasis on skilled play with the puck — is going to take some time, and perhaps some significant roster changes.

New Jersey (0-3-3), meanwhile, was one of only two winless NHL teams after losing last night in Winnipeg. Buffalo (0-5-1) is the other, but many expected the Sabres to struggle.

Washington (1-4-0) has yet to win a game in regulation after a 5-1 loss at home to Colorado on Saturday.

The pleasant surprises in the NHL can be found in Colorado, Toronto and Calgary.

The Avs, under first-year firebrand coach Patrick Roy, are 5-0-0 and the stingiest club in the league, having allowed four goals in five games.

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